Discretion is the Better Part of Valor
by Vedra42
Summary: A team still raw from loss with an untested new member struggling to find her way. No one knew if they would even work. A simple weekend would change their bond. Who knew that their greatest adventure would take place on Earth?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All recognizable Harry Potter characters, places, etc. belong to JK Rowling. The recognizable Stargate characters, place, etc. belong to MGM, Scifi and the creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright.

A/N: This is the fourth story in my New Life series. This started out as a one-shot, but grew into a multiple chapter story. Warning there is some cursing in this story and there is going to be a lot more action than my other stories have had. There are a few OCs present that are not based on any characters in the series since I can never recall the names of any background characters on the show. I hope you will enjoy it.

Standing in front of the mirror, Hermione made some last minute adjustments to her make-up and sighed. She had never been particularly interested in dressing up when she was younger and the feeling had passed on into adulthood. Sweeping a hand down the sides of her simple sundress, Hermione tried to remember the last time she had ever worn one. Pausing in thought, she remembered with some irony that it had been at Harry and Ginny's wedding. Once again sighing at her appearance, Hermione wished that this wedding would follow the lead of the last and only be a one-day event; sadly, it wasn't meant to be.

Lt. Kyle Lewis came from a fairly well-off family down in Arizona, and his bride-to-be was from Denver, whose family had lived in the town since its founding. The wedding had been shaping up to be the event of the season this past spring before the unfortunate death of the fourth member of the SG team the lieutenant had been assigned to, and whom Hermione had been brought in to replace.

The newly reformed SG-11 had been reassigned as a first-contact team once her initial training had taken place, and had only become active again in the last two months. It was now October, and the wedding was again ready to proceed. Hermione felt a little awkward in receiving an invite, but recognized the gesture as a sincere way to include her more in her teammates' lives. Despite there being no outward signs of hostility to her appointment, she knew that in many ways she fell short of their expectations. She wasn't military, and regardless of how much training she had gone through, she could end up being a liability, something no one on a team that had just lost a member wanted to experience again.

After their first off-world mission and seeing the overly protective nature all three had shown Hermione, she did something which in hindsight probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation: she signed up for more training. The program that Colonel O'Neill had originally come up with had been created to make sure that civilians going off-world would know how to fire a weapon, perform basic first aid, and possess some survival skills and training to actually be fit enough to keep up with the rest of the team. He had added a few more elements to make sure that the experience was a worthy punishment for her assault on Hamilton, and despite a rather rough start, Hermione had flown through the experience with relative ease. She had found that she already knew most of the skills from her adventuresome youth and naturally, being in better shape than the average scientists on the base. In fact, she was shaping up to be an awfully good marksman, probably owning to the fact that her previous dueling experience gave her an excellent aim.

Her new training still fell short of what an officer would be capable of, but far exceeded that of any of the civilians on the base. All the training she had arranged in her own free time and with willing volunteers to help. Her regiment included distance running with Janet three times a week, computer basics with Lt. Lewis (who was a trained program designer), explosives training with Sergeant Nicholas (one of the Marines she had met on base), and hand-to-hand with Teal'c, the latter of which continually left her feeling like a giant bruise. She was still improving, but overall, her teammates had begun to trust her a bit more.

Giving herself one last inspection in the hotel mirror, Hermione grabbed a coat and her gift before heading out the door for the start of the pre-wedding events. Shaking her head, Hermione once again wondered how she was supposed to be getting to know more about her teammates when most of the events for this three-day weekend were split between the sexes. Lt. Colonel Scott Taylor and Captain Kurtis Blake would be spending the day with the rest of the men and the groom; Lt. Lewis paint-balling, playing American football, drinking, smoking cigars and who knew what else, while she would be stuck with the women. The previous day had been spent with Hermione helping the bride and her mother transport stuff from the house to the hotel in her truck.

Mary Holm, the bride-to-be, and Claire Taylor were really the only people she would know, since most of the female personnel from the base who had been invited would only be there for have the wedding itself. Though, to be fair, considering the size of the wedding and the amount of guests Mrs. Holm had invited from Denver's elite, Mary probably didn't even know who everyone was. She had first met Mary at one of Lt. Colonel Taylor's family barbeques, along with his wife; both were genuinely warm women whom Hermione got along with well.

The Taylors had been high-school sweethearts and had been married for over twenty years with three kids. The Lt. Colonel was career military and had a favorable service record before being transferred to the SGC. He had commanded SG-11 for two and a half years with a high success ratio before the death of the fourth member in an ambush last spring. Hermione found him to be a stern taskmaster at times, but would often act more like a father trying to handle a group of unruly kids. After the 45-year-old commander, the next oldest member, Captain Kurtis Blake was a good 15 years younger than the man. Blake had enlisted after graduating from university with a degree in engineering. He was quite the flirt and was had a constantly rotating roster of dates, but had opted to come stag for the wedding.

The third member of the team was Lt. Kyle Lewis, a fairly recent graduate from the Academy who had been on the team for about a year. The rookie was the most openly supportive member of her team about her appointment. He had helped her learn considerably more about using computers beyond simply writing reports and checking emails. At barely 23 years old, he was the youngest member on the team. He had met his fiancée Mary while she had been attending the local university while he was at the Academy.

Stepping into the lift, Hermione pushed the button for the ground floor. The wedding and reception was being held in an upscale resort just outside of Denver, and most of the guests had rooms on the first three floors. Arriving at the correct level, she stepped across the tiled lobby toward the dining area where the bridal shower was about to start. Entering the room, Hermione jumped back just in time to avoid crashing into a group of women hovering by the door; the room was packed.

Taking a deep breath and plastering on a smile, Hermione proceeded into the room, mentally prepared to participate in the social activities of Denver's elite.

_"...can you believe the floral arrangements that they have used? At my wedding..." _

_"...I heard that it was really postponed because Mary was pregnant and lost the baby..." _

_"Oh, we've known each other since we were five..."_

Thankfully, she was intercepted by Claire and ushered over to sit beside her while the bride opened her gifts. "Thank you," whispered Hermione.

"No problem, dear; it looked like you were in need of a rescue," replied the woman, giving her a gentle pat on the hand. Hermione sent her a smile in return.

The proceeding hour was spent opening gifts, taking pictures and eating the gorgeous buffet that had been set up. Eventually, everything began to slow down before the guests began to split up for various activities. Hermione had been invited the previous night to accompany Mary and her college friends for a spa treatment while the mothers finished last minute details for the wedding tomorrow. Saying good-bye to Claire Taylor, who was going into town to visit her aunt for the rest of the day, Hermione followed the group who was going to the spa.

They were escorted toward the changing area first to disrobe before being led to the mudbaths. A little uncertain about participating, Hermione reluctantly pulled off her robe and began to step into the pool. Hearing a gasp, her head jerked up to find one of the bridesmaids, Mindy...Mandy or something, staring at her. "Oh my God, what the hell happened?" The very loud exclamation drew the attention of the rest of the room.

Everyone turned to look at Hermione, who went beet red at the attention and quickly submerged herself in the muck. "It's an old scar," she mumbled.

The woman, perhaps realizing her mistake, also turned a bit red. "Um, sorry about that." She moved away in embarrassment and soon joined some other friends on the other side of the room.

Hermione just leaned back, trying unsuccessfully to relax while old memories began to stir. The scar which had grabbed everyone's attention was a gift from Dolohov back in fifth year during the Department of Mysteries battle. The purple flame had left some real damage, and despite the potions, she still had quite an impressive scar to show for it running from her stomach up onto her sternum. Officially, it was an injury she had received from an attempted murder after she had been witness to a crime. From a Muggle standpoint, it looked serious enough to require months of healing, accounting for her spotty record of schooling which made it essential she redo her last year when she moved to Australia.

At least she had been able to conceal Bellatrix's little gift from the casual observer in a suitably rebellious way for the Yanks to ignore, in the form of a tattoo.

Hearing footsteps, Hermione looked up and saw Mary gazing at her with concern. Sinking into the mud beside her, she spoke. "I'm sorry about Maggie; she has started early today."

Some champagne had been served with the food earlier, but she hadn't taken the opportunity presented to loosen her wits; the bachelorette party was that night. "It's alright." They lapsed into silence and Hermione glanced at Mary through the corner of her eye. Judging by her face, Mary was still worried. Not wanting to spoil her day, Hermione decided she deserved an explanation. "How much has Kyle told you about my past before I came to work for the military?" Hermione knew that her teammates had not learned much of her history beyond reading her official file, but it gave her a chance to gather her thoughts.

Frowning, Mary answered, "Just that you worked at the University of Cairo before getting hired on as a civilian consultant. He doesn't talk about work much, with it being classified and all. Oh, he did mention that his superiors were having mixed reactions about you being hired at all, and that the base gossip was going rampant."

A little shocked that she even knew that much, Hermione took a moment to compose herself before starting her story. "I can't tell you much since it is classified." Mary nodded her head in understanding and Hermione once again marveled at her ability to be so accepting. If their positions had been reversed, Hermione didn't know if she would have been so complacent; her curiosity would have been too much. "The reason my employment caused so much trouble is that my background check had a few irregularities. One of which was caused by being placed into witness protection when I was seventeen. The issue ended up being resolved, but not before I was injured and received that scar."

"That's terrible." Grabbing her hand, Mary gave it a squeeze. "Thank you for telling me, and I'm so sorry about my friend. I know that we don't really know each other that well, but if you ever need to talk..."

"I will. Thank you."

Settling back into the mud, they changed the subject and were soon talking about their respective times in university. After the attendant came back in to tell them it was time to move onto the next treatment, Hermione had relaxed enough to enjoy the rest of the spa experience. The party was taken on to the showers followed by massages and facials. As they sat around with masks on receiving manicures, they were joined by Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Holm, who had completed the final arrangements for the next day.

Her previous good mood vanished at the sight of Mrs. Holm.

The woman had been civil enough at first, but had become increasingly cold over dinner, reminding her quite a bit of Narcissa Malfoy at times. Thankfully, the woman had taken to ignoring her presence for the moment and Hermione was able to make a quick escape back to her room soon after.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_Alright, the florist would be arriving first thing and the catering staff would do the same. What am I forgetting? Oh, yes the band. _

Pulling out her PDA, Eloise Holm made a note to herself to call the band tonight to double-check that they were going to be on time. Tomorrow had to be perfect; her baby girl was getting married.

Handing the valet her car keys, she swept into the lobby with her soon-to-be in-law Felicia Lewis. They had gone out for a last-minute check back at her house to see if the wine delivery had come in; the hotel didn't have enough space to store it in their kitchen and they would have to bring it in tomorrow. It had also given Felicia the chance to complete the wedding cake, which would also arrive tomorrow. At first she had been reluctant to allow the woman to make the dessert, even if she owned her own catering business, but had been won over after trying a sample one that had been created.

The two set off toward the kitchens to talk with the staff before dropping in on the last hour of Mary's spa day. She intended to get her nails redone and wanted to go over things with her daughter.

It wasn't until she sat down that she caught sight of Hermione Granger, one of Kyle's co-workers, that her face morphed into a frown. She had first found out about the new team member after speaking to Mary a month ago and being told that she was to be added to the guest list. Eloise had no idea what kind of work Kyle did up in that mountain, but she had found it to be highly unusual to have a female civilian joining a military team. She had kept her mouth shut to her daughter about Kyle's choice in career for years; she didn't want Mary to end up losing him one day, but once she had learned of this new member, her previous suspicions grew. It was then that she finally elected to hire a private investigator to find out more about her future son-in-law.

Kyle was just who he appeared to be: a bright young man from a hardworking family. He wasn't the ideal partner she had expected to one day pair her daughter with, but she wasn't foolish enough to fight her headstrong offspring over that fact. If only he had chosen to pursue those computer skills of his in the private sector. What had worried her was the frequency of visits that the young man had as of late been taking to the apartment of one Hermione Granger. The knowledge had left a bitter taste in her mouth. She had no proof they were having an affair, and in all honesty she didn't believe Kyle would cheat on her daughter, but something was off about the whole situation.

The investigator had looked into the woman's background, and the more Eloise had discovered, the less she liked the whole situation. Rumors of intelligence connections, an old friend who worked for her husband's competitor, a reputation for being ruthless in her work, and talk of a mysterious benefactor for her schooling. Her mind may be conjuring up nothing, but Eloise wasn't about to trust the mysterious Dr. Hermione Granger, especially after last night.

She had been coming back from the bathroom when she had spotted the woman out on the terrace speaking to someone on the phone. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop, but her curiosity got the better of her.

_"...Everything is right on schedule...No, I don't need this to be a big operation...They will be gone for a week...Things are going just fine here...You're right. Hopefully, no one will be getting hurt...When are you arriving?...It will be nice to have some backup...Yes. I've only really been around Mary with all of the girl stuff going on and her mother has been hovering about with preparations, driving everyone...Definitely an accurate description...I look forward to it. Bye." _

Eloise had ducked out of sight just in time to avoid being caught as the woman went back to the reception hall. She had been frozen, chilled to the bone at the content of the phone conversation. What the hell was going on?

She had stayed out on the balcony, replaying the conversation over and over again in her head; nothing was making sense.

The only thing she could think of was corporate espionage. It had to be; there was no other explanation that she could come up with. That woman was dangerous and wanted to hurt her family.

With shaking hands, she called her investigator once again. She knew Mary wouldn't listen unless she could produce some evidence, especially after that fiasco back in high school that they had promised to never again mention. She needed answers before whatever was about to descend on her family occurred.

Whatever that woman was planning, she would stop her.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Keeping a tight grip on the briefcase, he waited until the driver had come to a complete stop before exiting the vehicle. Buttoning his coat against the wind, he straightened his tie and followed the two agents into the hotel. Scanning the lobby as they walked to the elevator, he ignored the security measures that had already been put in place for this meeting, confident that everything would proceed as planned.

Exiting the elevator, they met the two guards that had been posted outside the room. Seeing him, the one on the left turned and knocked on the door before opening it with a security card. Holding the door open, he waited for his own man to enter first before doing the same after hearing the agent say, "It's clear, sir."

The room was tastefully decorated like the rest of the hotel, and would be a perfect for the deal. Stepping into the room, he was met with his colleague and another man standing to greet him. "Senator Kinsey, what a pleasure to see that you arrived safely."

Keeping his tone business-like, but not fully hiding his disdain for the man's overly-friendly greeting, he answered, "I assure you that it wasn't an issue, Mr. Stern."

His smile quickly turning into a frown, Stern finally seemed to focus back onto business. "Ah, yes; well, I assume that you have brought the samples."

"I have them," was the brisk reply; he hated pussy-footing.

"Good, but I am going to need my associate Mr. Reeves to verify that," he said, gesturing at the silent man who had been standing aside.

"Of course." They had already agreed to this before the meeting had been arranged. Handing over the briefcase to Mr. Reeves, Kinsey waited for the man to confirm the validity of his acquisition.

As he watched, the two vials were removed from the case and a drop was placed onto a glass slide and placed under a microscope set up on the table. Looking up, Mr. Reeves nodded at his colleague before taking the second vial and doing the same. Finishing his exam, he looked up and reported, "Both samples are good."

Mr. Stern's face had taken on a smile again. "Excellent." Sitting at the table, he typed out a few commands before focusing back onto Kinsey and turning the screen to face him. "I have just sent half the funds and will send the rest once the deal has been completed, Senator."

"You remember the arrangements?" asked Kinsey.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Just remember to stick with the plans; we don't need anything to compromise this deal," ordered Kinsey.

Still displaying his pleasure at receiving the samples, Stern replied. "Everything has already been arranged."

After receiving the confirmation, Kinsey left with his Secret Service detail already radioing ahead to the driver to be waiting at the front. Exiting the hotel, Kinsey let his eyes wander, taking in the added security that had been set up for the arrival of the buyers the next day. Despite his dislike of the man, Mr. Stern had so far proved to be at least competent in his task.

Slipping back into his vehicle, Kinsey finally took notice of some of the signs that had been set up to direct members of a wedding party to their daily activities. Kyle Lewis. Staring at the name of the groom, Kinsey puzzled over why that rung a bell. Still confused, he quickly made a call as his driver began to navigate his way back toward the airport.

Not even completing its first ring, the phone was picked up by Mr. Stern. _"Senator."_

"I want a security check completed on all of the guests of that wedding party completed tonight. The groom sounds familiar," ordered Kinsey, not bothering to explain.

_"...Yes, sir. I am sure that it is just a coincidence. I have already-"_

With a nagging feeling that he had heard that name before, he interrupted. "I don't care. If anyone looks suspicious, I want them dealt with. You got that?"

_"Of course, Senator."_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still own nothing of either the Harry Potter world or the Stargate world.

A/N: I have never been to Denver and do not know the area at all, the hotel and other places in this story are entirely fictional.

Sitting on the couch in the living area, Mr. Stern waited for the final background checks to arrive.

His hired security team had replaced the usual staff and were using the hotel system to monitor the guests for any suspicious activity. After hanging up with the Senator, he had tasked them with using the system and the NID database to cross-check all persons staying at the hotel.

The deal was too important to be compromised.

Picking up the papers that Mr. Reeves had compiled about the initial findings of the samples, he examined the results. Both the compounds were smuggled through the Russian Gate before the program had been shut down. On their own they were nothing, but combined they would form the basic building blocks for the Tok'ra truth serum. Stern was to play the intermediary between Kinsey and another high-ranking member of the NID who planned to redevelop the compound for military and civilian use.

A sound at the door drew his attention to one of the security personnel entering. The man passed him a disk before departing. Sliding the disk into the laptop resting on the coffee table, Stern opened the file.

A list of the guests of the wedding appeared, with several highlighted. Frowning, he clicked on one of the names. A window opened to a profile of a Captain Kurtis Blake stationed out of Cheyenne Mountain, member of SG-11. His mood slowly darkened as he clicked another then another. Lt. Colonel Taylor, Lt. Kyle Lewis, Major Williams, Sergeant Davik and Dr. Granger; all members of the SGC and here for the wedding.

This was bad.

For a moment he considered calling off the deal, but that prick Kinsey wouldn't like that. He had spent a month hammering out these arrangements, and he wasn't about to let a coincidence ruin this deal.

Looking at the silent Mr. Reeves, he made his decision. "I have a job for you to do."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

After hiding in her room for the rest of the day, Hermione finally forced herself into getting ready to rejoin the activities back down stairs after receiving a call from Mary. Dressing this time in a light sweater and tight jeans, Hermione grabbed her leather jacket for a night of pub-crawling. The bachelor and bachelorette party would begin at the hotel bar to let the happy couple have one last farewell before being separated until the wedding took place.

Walking through the lobby, she was stopped in her tracks by the sudden appearance of Mrs. Holm blocking her way. The older woman was still impeccably dressed and was probably waiting for her husband to go out for supper. Pinning her with a withering gaze, Mrs. Holm spoke. "I just want you to know that you haven't fooled me. I know exactly who and what you are. If you think that you for one minute that you are going to come in here and endanger me and mine than you have another thing coming. Don't think I am without my resources; I can ruin you."

Completely taken off-guard, Hermione felt all the blood rush out of her face.

_What- _

_How could this woman know- _

Before her mind could completely fall apart, Hermione managed to gather her wits to attempt an act of nonchalance. "I'm sorry; I-I don't know what you are referring to. I haven't done anything to endanger your family and I'm just a civilian consultant for the military."

The woman snorted, obviously not buying her denials. "Please, don't insult my intelligence. I know all about what kind of past you have." Stepping closer, she whispered, "All those rumors. You're a threat to my family."

Frozen at her words, Hermione tried, "Ma'am, I-"

Cutting her off, Mrs. Holm stepped even closer. "Just stop." Hermione's mouth snapped shut involuntarily. "I'll be keeping my eyes on you."

With that warning, Mrs. Holm walked away, leaving Hermione confused and shaken. When she noticed that people were beginning to stare, she moved into the restroom to compose herself.

It had almost sounded like that woman knew she was a witch - but, no, that wasn't possible. No one outside of the magical community was ever told about magic except for the parents of those Muggle-born students. Mary was an only child and Hermione knew she wasn't a witch. Even if she had chosen to forgo the magical world for a Muggle education, the name Hermione Granger would have sparked some reaction; to her utter horror, her fame was ranked right up there with Harry's, despite and because of her exile. Mrs. Holm could not know anything about magic.

Letting out a relieved breath, Hermione calmed herself and continued to think. It had to be something else that Mrs. Holm was speaking about, something that would have lead her to believe Hermione was a danger to her family. The Stargate program came to mind, but was just as quickly dismissed. If that were the case, Kyle would be getting the lecture, not herself. Still uncertain, she decided to look into it some more later. Exiting the restroom, she marched over to the bar; she needed a drink.

Only once she threw back a shot and let the alcohol burn its way down her throat did she realized that she was no longer in the mood to party anymore. Before she could beg off accompanying the group on their night's adventure and stumble back up to her room, an arm was thrown over her shoulder.

"Hey, pretty lady, what are you doing this fine night?" She glared at her smirking teammate. Kurtis just wiggled his eyebrows in reply. "Oh, come on, where's the love?"

Another voice chimed in from the stool next to her, "Blake, I would like to remind you that you are still an officer and should show some decorum even if we are off duty." Hermione caught the eye of her commanding officer Scott Taylor nursing a beer.

Kurtis threw up his hands in mock affront and declared, "You two are no fun," before walking off to the group of men congregating around one of the tables with Kyle in the center receiving a bunch of ribbing and backslaps as he downed a shot. Gesturing toward the table, she asked, "How much has he had?"

Also staring at the group, Scott replied, "Don't worry; he has been watering down the drinks. He doesn't want Mary to be throwing a fit if he is hung-over during the ceremony." She smiled at the image that he conjured and he did the same. "And, of course, I will be there to bail out the young whipper-snapper if he gets in over his head."

Laughing, Hermione cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really. Are you sure that they won't need to bail you out for starting a bar fight?"

Setting down his mug, he glared at her. "Claire shouldn't be talking."

Hermione snorted. She had heard all from Claire about his adventuresome bachelor party. A loud whoop broke into their conversation as the happy couple had one last snog before their friends could tear them apart.

Scott stood at a signal from across the room that his party was leaving throwing some cash down to cover the unfinished beer. With a sigh, Hermione also got up as one of the bridesmaids began to wave her over. Hearing her sigh Scott chuckled.

She bristled at the sound before smiling evilly, "Have fun with the strippers." She announced cheerfully just to annoy him in an overly loud voice.

It was his turn to scowl. "Hateful child." Walking off, he sent her one last barb. "Try to avoid drinking anything green this time."

She grimaced in remembrance of a recent off-world mission where she had ingested one of the local specialties that had kept her up half the night vomiting. Making her way over to the enthusiastic waving of the bridal party, Hermione quickly made her excuses for bowing out over the drunken protests of several members. Finally free, she made her way back to the lift, determined to find out more about Mrs. Holm's warning before the night was through.

Stepping into the lift, she was joined by a few other guests who all proceeded to exit on their floors, except one.

When they reached the fifth floor, Hermione exited and began to walk down the hallway to her room. She placed the keycard in the door and depressed the handle, flipping the light switch on as she entered.

A second before the attack began, Hermione wondered why she hadn't heard the door close.

A spike of fear coursed through her, and she whipped around, locking her gaze with the man from the elevator just as he began to raise a gun pointed at her. Reacting, she dove behind the bed, avoiding the double shots aimed her way. Before the man could round the bed to take aim again, Hermione grasped the book which had been sitting on her night-stand and chucked it toward the guy.

Using the momentary detraction, she hurled herself at the man, causing both of them to hit the ground hard and the man to lose his weapon. Scrambling up, she was halted by a hand seizing her ankle, causing her to fall on her belly. Not letting up, she kicked out with her booted feet and succeeded in opening up a cut above one of his eyes. After her lucky shot, her assailant managed to fend off her continued kicks and managed to pin her legs before crawling up her body to grasp her throat. He squeezed despite her futile attempts to claw at his hands and face.

The room began to darken and her lungs burned at the lack of oxygen. Desperately, she fought, trying to thrash away. It was then she spotted the gun laying off to the side. Flinging out her arm, Hermione stretched as far as she could, just barely able to grab the piece.

Quickly, before he could defend himself, she took the gun and crashed it into the man's skull. It worked and he slumped forward, releasing his hold on her throat. Gasping for air, Hermione pushed the dead weight off and slid away from her attacker. For a few minutes, all she could do was suck in huge breaths of air while keeping a steady eye on the unconscious figure.

Finally able to control her breathing, Hermione, using the wall for support, stood, keeping the gun trained on the man the whole time. Gently, she nudged the man to make sure that he was still out. He didn't move, and she tried with a little more force; still nothing. A flood of emotions nearly overwhelmed her; old memories which should have been locked away rushed forward. Her foot shot out, connecting with the source of her frustrations; it was too much like what had happened in Australia. Shaken, Hermione stumbled back into the wall until she could put her blocks back up.

Feeling better, she slowly scanned the room until she spotted the phone, which had been knocked over in the attack. Taking the receiver, she placed a call into the front desk, asking that security be sent up and the police called. Sinking onto the bed in exhaustion, Hermione began to take notice of her surroundings; the room was a mess. That was when her eyes fell onto the tranquillizer darts stuck in the wall. Puzzled, she picked one up.

_Why would someone use tranquilizers unless they- _

Replaying the events leading up to this moment, Hermione realized her first assumption had been false.

This wasn't some attempted rape or robbery - this was a kidnapping.

Turning her focus back on the figure, she studied his appearance, wondering who he was. Still wary, she cautiously turned him over and searched his pockets for clues. Some ties, a semiautomatic with a spare clip, and a wallet later she was even more confused.

Who was Mr. Reeves and what did he want with her? This kidnapping had been hastily cobbled together. It wasn't a crime of opportunity; it had been planned, the ties proved that. Then why had there been no clear plan of attack, relying mainly on luck for a chance to get her alone? It was a mess; it didn't even look like he had planned on how to get her out of the hotel. Had he expected to fling her over his shoulder and just walk out the door? Security would have-

_Security. _

A knock sounded at the door. The security team had arrived.

Now seriously doubting her earlier choice in calling the team, Hermione grabbed the gun and clip, tucking them into her jeans before slipping out onto her balcony, leaving the glass door cracked behind her. Warily, she tested the strength of the railings before climbing over the edge, and eased onto the ledge off to the side corner of the balcony, the only blind-spot from the room. Hidden from sight, Hermione focused on calming her heartbeat and extending her senses outward. She could just make out the sounds of movement in her room.

_"...searched. She's gone. How is..." _

_"He's still breathing. Looks like she...head." _

_"...can't have gone far. Try under...bed and the balcony." _

Pressing her body more firmly into the shadows, Hermione held her breath as one of the men opened the glass door, leading with a gun in front of himself. He studied the area before turning back into the room.

_"She's not out there." _

_"Shit. Call...tell them we missed her and to search the area. I want a complete lockdown." _

_"Okay, boss."_

_"Also get someone up...move him. Make sure that the other...have their targets. We don't...any more mistakes." _

_"...already in position at Clearwater Bar...waiting for an opportunity."_

_"Tell them to speed...timetable."_

Having heard what she needed to, Hermione carefully moved herself off the ledge and dropped down to the ledge below. Slipping into the empty room, she found that the phone lines were already down. Cursing herself for not having grabbed her mobile phone, Hermione grabbed a set of car keys off of the table. She needed to get to that bar before her teammates fell into an ambush.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Bobbing his head to the beat of the music, Kyle laughed as his friend spilled his beer down the front of his shirt. They had hit three bars so far, and the crowd was getting pretty rowdy as a result. Nursing his own mug, Kyle cheered as his fellow teammate Kurtis Blake did another body shot off of a local sorority girl. Scanning the room, he caught the eye of his CO Scott Taylor shaking his head in exasperation at Blake's actions. He gave the man a sympathetic smile, knowing that Taylor would have his work cut out for himself that night trying to rein in Blake's fun.

Finishing off the last of his drink, he made his way over to the bar to get a refill when another bar patron stood up, knocking into one of the waitresses, causing her to lose her balance and topple into him. Kyle felt a pinch in his neck, but ignored the feeling, thinking it was the edge of the tray grazing his neck. He helped the flustered girl right herself as others continued to crowd in around the commotion. As she profusely apologized, another waitress brought over a towel to help him clean up.

Sinking into a stool and wiping himself down, Kyle started to feel a little bit off. Thinking it was just the buzz of the alcohol he had consumed, he shrugged it off until the room began to spin. Standing, he stumbled, almost falling, only to be caught by Scott, who gave him a worried look. Seeing double, he could barely make out the man's words. "Are you alright there, son?"

"I-I don't know th-the room is spinning. I feel like I'm going to be sick." With that announcement, he stumbled toward the bathroom with Scott helping to support his weight. Pushing open a stall, he slumped over the toilet seat, heaving up the contents of his stomach. His head was pounding and he was starting to get the shakes. "Sir, I'm really not feeling well." He heaved some more. "Something isn't right. I haven't had that much."

Looking worried, Taylor shrugged. "Could just be nerves, kid. How about I round up Blake before he gets himself in any trouble and we take you back to the hotel to sleep it off? The others can stay here."

"Sure." Kyle heard the door close. A moment later it opened again. "That didn't take too long," he muttered before a blow to the back of his head caused the light to go out.

Grabbing the back of Blake's shirt to pry him away from the strippers that had just arrived, Scott explained the situation to the man and they both proceeded into the bathroom to help their teammate back to the hotel. They were waylaid by several members of the party asking about Kyle's whereabouts.

"I think he has had enough for the night. Go ahead and stay; Blake and I are going to take him back to the hotel before Mary finds out," answered Scott.

The guy laughed, "Kyle always was a lightweight. Don't worry about us; the night is young, we can take care of ourselves."

Opening the bathroom door, they were puzzled to find that no one was inside. Seeing the waitress from earlier walk by, he asked, "Have you seen were the guy who was in here a moment ago went?"

"Yeah. He stumbled out the backdoor saying something about fresh air."

Thanking her, they went out the back way. Without warning, they both felt the sting of tranquilizer darts enter their throats and cloud their minds before crashing into the pavement.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

A/N: I have never been to Denver and have imagined all of the places used in this story, none of the places are based off of real locations and are entirely fictional. Several people have sent me PM's asking if I plan to continue my fifth story in this series, Seeing is Believing which has been previously posted on Granger Enchanted, I do. I never planned to abandon this series, and in fact have a huge number more stories to finish for it, but life got in the way. I haven't owned a computer for several years now and a move across the country left me without any of my outlines until recently. I will continue to post this story regularly up through what I have of story five, after which I will try to have a once a week update schedule. Thank you to those have stuck with me over the years.

Keeping to the shadows, Hermione crept into the parking garage, holding the stolen keys in front of her, hoping to find the car they belonged to. Just about when she had given up, the lights of a SUV flashed. Jumping into the vehicle and adjusting the seat were easily done, but exiting the parking structure proved more difficult as she tried to avoid the notice of security.

After she had managed that and was on the highway, Hermione had to pull over to a gas station to ask for directions to the Clearwater Bar. Frustrated, she pushed the speed limit, needing to get to her teammates as quickly as possible.

Pulling into the parking lot, Hermione rushed into the building and began searching the crowd. They weren't there. Finally spotting someone she recognized, Sergeant Davik, she ran over.

"Sergeant," she yelled over the music.

Looking at her through dazed eyes, he blinked. "Dr. Granger, what ya doing here? Shouldn't ya be with the other chicks doing your hen night, thingy?"

As he laughed as his own pun, Hermione could only sigh in dismay. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him off to the side so they wouldn't be overheard. In a firm voice, she explained, "Listen! Someone just tried to kidnap me, and there is another team coming here to grab the rest of us. We need to find the others and get out of here now."

Sobering up at her tone, Davik straightened and cast a glance around the bar. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I overheard them talking about this place. Where is everyone else?"

Pausing in thought, Davik replied, "Last I saw of the rest of your team, they were going to take Kyle back to the hotel since he over did it a bit. Major William was here a minute ago." Scanning the crowd, he grabbed the attention of one of the other wedding guests. "Ben, my man, have you seen William around anywhere?"

The aforementioned Ben nodded. "I just saw him going out back with some waitress."

Sharing equal looks of concern, Hermione and Davik both approached the back hallway and followed it toward the exit. Before he could try and walk out the back, she pulled out the firearm she had taken off of her attacker to take the lead. Swinging open the door, they both took defensive positions and used hand signals to slowly begin to search the area. Coming to the end of the alley, they both spotted a van surrounded by several guards and two of them loading an unconscious Major William into the back. A woman dressed as a waitress was standing off to the side and looked to be receiving some instructions, probably how to draw Davik out of the bar.

Hermione signaled that they should back off. As they eased back into the darkness of the alley, Davik stumbled over a trash can, drawing the attention of the crew. The guards opened fire with tranq-guns the moment they spotted the pair. Using the stolen gun, Hermione managed to disable and confuse the group enough that she was able to escape even after her partner was taken down.

Even as she ran back through the bar and out to the stolen vehicle, she knew that it was highly unlikely she would be able to catch up with the van that had sped away with her teammates and fellow SGC employees. It didn't take her long to be proven right; the van was nowhere to be found. Slamming her fist into the steering wheel in frustration, Hermione turned back around to the bar and pulled up next to the alley hoping that one of the men she had injured was still alive. Holding the gun steadily, she swept the area and spotted a body slumped against the alley wall.

In a weak voice, the man spoke, "Help."

Cautiously, she approached the figure who was holding his jacket against a bleeding wound in his stomach, looking quite pale with blood loss and on the verge of passing out. "Shit." Quickly shrugging out of her jumper leaving her only in a thin tank top, she pressed it firmly into the man's belly, causing him to let out a grunt of pain. Locating an open mobile phone laying off to the side smeared with blood, she quickly dialed 911 for an ambulance.

Now that the man was able to focus on her presence and that an ambulance had been called, Hermione began her interrogation. "Where were they taken?"

Still looking a bit dazed, he answered. "Warehouse, urrh. Over on Grant and Pa-Parkway."

"Who do you work for?" she demanded, trying to keep the man focused.

"Guy called Mr. Stern."

The name didn't sound familiar. "Who is this Mr. Stern? Why did he take my team?"

Hissing in pain, he responded. "Urgh. He had some deal go-going on at the hotel. Something with the NID, I-I don't know what."

Hermione stilled for a moment as a surge of disgust shot through her. She had never personally had any dealings with the NID, but she knew of their reputation. The organization was known for their less-than-scrupulous ways and had more than once tried to take control of the SGC. More often than not, it was controlled by rogue agents out for their own personal gain. In its own way, it reminded her very much of the corruption of the Ministry.

In the distance she could hear sirens getting closer. It suddenly occurred to her that the police would probably be arriving as well, and unless she wanted to be arrested, she should call the base. Opening the man's mobile once again, she quickly made another call to the SGC to inform them of the situation and request back-up. She was instructed to surrender herself to the police and wait for a local Air Force officer to be sent to arrange her release. She would then be put in charge of coordinating a rescue operation, since it would take too long to organize a group to come from Colorado Springs. SG-1, SG-4 and SG-5 would begin mobilizing to infiltrate the hotel to find this Mr. Stern and his team of NID operatives; her priority would be to rescue her team.

Finishing her call just in time, a voice rang out from behind her. "Freeze!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Taking in the lovely view from his hotel suite, Mr. Stern enjoyed his glass of scotch. The ring of his cell interrupted his reprieve and he brought the offending object to his ear, not bothering to look at the caller ID. "Is it done?"

_"No, sir. The girl got away and intercepted the ambush at the bar. We lost an agent at the scene, but were able to acquire the rest of the personnel. She is armed and tried to pursue, but we evaded."_

"I want her found before she causes any more trouble," he demanded.

_"Sir, we believe she has already called in for back-up and got the location of the warehouse off of the injured agent. The police scanners have an ambulance and cop car in route to the area. It's safe to assume she has already contacted the SGC."_

Staring at his reflection in the sliding glass door, he let his thoughts race toward the next logical step in the woman's actions. She so far had proven quite resilient in disrupting his carefully laid plans. Something, he thought with distaste, that had not been in the files he had procured about her. "Bring those you have back to the hotel instead; Dr. Granger will most likely be mounting a rescue to the other location. Make sure that they continue to be sedated; I don't want any more slip-ups."

_"What about the girl?"_

A grim smile slipped on to Mr. Stern's face. "She will be handled." With that, he ended the call and began to punch in a new number. The other line rang once before being picked up.

_"Sir."_

"I have a job for you."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione shifted her weight in an effort to ease the pressure on her wrists from being handcuffed and shoved into the back of a police car. At the moment, she was staring straight ahead, waiting for the idiot police officers to stop their incessant questions and the officer General Hammond had promised to send to show up.

She was having a really bad night, and the fact that she was sitting in the back of a police cruiser, which smelled like urine, freezing to death in nothing but a filthy tank-top was putting her into an increasingly foul mood. After she had surrendered her weapon, one of the cops had pushed her into the asphalt to slap on the handcuffs, getting a little too grabby, in her opinion. In the process, the muck of the alley had the opportunity to seep into her clothes, leaving her cold and wet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione could see that the medics had finally been able to stabilize their patient and were about to transport him to the hospital. It also looked like a pair of detectives had arrived to take her in for questioning.

Where was her back-up?

Before she was subjected to another round of accusation, a military jeep pulled up. Stepping out of the vehicle were two men in uniforms; a Major and Lieutenant, from the looks of it. The pair intercepted the detectives, and after a rushed conversation and showing them some paperwork, she was released.

The Major approached her and executed a salute. "Ma'am, I have orders from General Hammond to follow your lead. A team has already been assembled and is on stand-by outside of the warehouse waiting for our arrival."

Nodding, Hermione asked, "What have you been briefed about so far, Major...?"

"Cartwright, ma'am. We were just told that this mission would be highly classified and that you were in charge." Pausing in his explanation, he gave her a searching look. "I don't much like the idea of sending my men in blind, ma'am."

Striding over to the jeep, and Hermione climbed into the back, while Major Cartwright got in the passenger seat and the unnamed Lieutenant the driver's side. "I understand your concern, Major, and I will inform you of what I can." Glancing at the passing traffic, she began to give orders. "Tell your men to do a sweep of the perimeter for any guards. I want to hit these bastards before they have a chance to learn we are coming. Have them ready with the information for when we get there."

Reacting to the authority in her tone, the Major got on the radio and began to direct the team into place. The drive through the dark streets was accomplished swiftly and their group was soon pulling into a mobile unit that had been set up for coordinating the assault. Not bothering with pleasantries, Hermione followed Major Cartwright into the surveillance area. "What do you have?"

She was shown the blueprints for the building and told of the tactical situation. As far as the team could tell, there were no guards in place, but they had spotted several security cameras placed at the entrances. There would be no cause for subtlety, they would have to use a frontal assault and fight their way through.

Once the decision was made, everyone loaded up their gear. Hermione grabbed a much needed jacket, a tac-vest, a firearm and a gas mask before making one last announcement. "I just want to remind everyone that this mission is classified. Whatever you may see is not to be talked about; do I make myself clear?"

A round of, "Yes, ma'am," was heard.

The team of twelve, plus Hermione, arranged themselves around the facility and split into two groups; one to cover the back exit and the other for the frontal assault. Taking charge of the assault group, Hermione placed Major Cartwright in charge of the other. Taking a deep breath, she made a hand signal to the group and they swiftly jumped into action. One of the soldiers placed a charge of C4 on the door and blew it open while another threw canisters of tear-gas into the room.

Pouring into the room, the team spread out in a standard sweeping pattern, looking for any hostiles. Finding none, they began a room-by-room search.

No one was there.

Hitting her radio, Hermione called the Major. "We have nothing here. Anyone on your end?"

"No, ma'am, nothing."

Clenching her fists in fury, Hermione reined in the urge to curse. Those bastards must have figured out that the location wasn't secure since they had left a man behind. Before she could give into the childish impulse to stomp her foot, an airman caught her attention. "Ma'am, I think you should come see this."

Following his lead, she entered a room with a large cage in the center of it; probably where they had intended to keep the prisoners. "We are on the right trail. This is where they planned to bring the captives. Get those outside to come help have everyone search these rooms; I want to know if they left anything behind to indicate where they might have gone."

The soldier nodded and went to collect the others to coordinate the search. Left in the room, she ran her eyes along the cage in silence. Where had they taken her team? As much as she disliked the idea, Hermione almost felt that she should throw caution to the wind and take this unit to secure the hotel before Mr. Stern and his associates had a chance to escape with any clues as to the whereabouts of her teammates.

Deciding that the best course would be to re-interview the guard at the hospital, Hermione was surprised by a blow to the back of her head, causing her to crash into the floor as darkness closed in.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The search didn't take long; there was nothing left of the group that had occupied it or where they planned to hide next. Ordering his men to pull back, Major Cartwright had everyone meet back at the surveillance unit to start packing up.

Looking a bit confused, Captain Malcolm cornered him for a moment. "What about Dr. Granger? She hasn't left the building yet, sir."

He waved away the man's concern. "Don't worry about the doctor. I'm going to be taking her over to the hospital to question the witness some more. Her people are going to be taking over the rest of this operation from this point on." Handing over the issued equipment, he said "Here, take these; Dr. Granger won't be needing them anymore."

"I understand, sir."

"Good. I want you to arrange for everyone to pack-up and get back to the base. Debriefing at 0900 tomorrow," Cartwright made sure to add.

"Yes, sir." Turning, the Captain set about doing exactly that.

As the unit drove off, he took out a cell phone and punched in a number. "I've got the girl."

_"Excellent."_

"What do you want me to do with her? Lock her up with the others?"

There was a silence over the line before his employer spoke again. _"She's been too much trouble already. Find out what she knows, then get rid of her."_

"Understood."

_"Your usual fee will be deposited into your account."_

Hanging up the phone, Cartwright opened up the bag he had left in the jeep with his supplies and double-checked that everything was in order before he walked back into the warehouse to deal with Dr. Granger.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or the Stargate series.

After waking up, it took a few minutes before he was able to focus on his surroundings. Man, he didn't think he'd had that much. Squinting through the pain, Kyle was finally able to make out another figure sprawled out next to him; it was Major William.

What was going on?

Flashes of memories shot across his eyes: the bar, getting sick, the blow to the head. He groaned in pain, gripping his head.

The sound obviously alerted someone else in the room since a voice rang out from behind him. "Oh, good. You're awake."

Turning his head, he spotted his teammate Kurtis Blake propped up against the wall. Confused, Kyle asked, "Where are we?"

"Don't know," was the reply.

Examining the room closely, he made a guess. "Looks like a storage shed of some sort." Noticing the others in the room for the first time, he asked, "Who else is here?"

Sighing, Blake answered. "William, Taylor and Davik. They still haven't woken up from the drugs yet; whoever grabbed us really wanted to put us out for a bit. Used the waitress to lure us out in smaller groups before taking us down."

"Have you found a way out of here yet?" questioned Kyle. The haze had finally lifted and he was able to think more coherently.

"Nope." They both sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering their options, when a groan was heard from Taylor.

As the others began to wake up and the situation was explained, they tried to figure out a way to escape. There were several options and lots of materials to use laying around; whoever kidnapped them had done a really lousy job of finding a place to store them in.

He hadn't realized he had voiced that aloud until Sergeant Davik broke in with an explanation. "I believe that our abductors were rushed in picking a second location to store us since Dr. Granger had already tracked them once. Probably thought it best not to take us to their first hideout." Seeing the looks of confusion they all were sending his way, Davik informed them of Hermione's escape and subsequent botched rescue attempt.

Whistling in appreciation of the tale, Kurtis spoke up. "Damn, that chick is crazy. The girl is going to get herself into some serious trouble one day. I thought we had made it clear that she needs to start relying on others," he said, directing his complaint toward Lt. Colonel Taylor before turning his attention back on Davik. "Did she even get a chance to call for back-up?"

Davik shrugged. "Don't think she had a cell phone. In all likelihood, she has called the cavalry by now, sir."

Kyle spoke up before Blake could work himself up into a full-on rant. He understood the man's frustration in regard to Granger's sometimes standoffish independence, but he also understood Hermione's need to be seen as being able to handle herself. She was the only woman on the team, and a civilian to boot, with no previous experience working with a group, her life full of academic competition with all her colleagues. She wasn't familiar with military procedures; despite her natural instincts and quick mind, she sometimes placed herself in danger with her ignorance. Kyle knew that her whole goal in getting more training was so that the team would trust her more.

Not wanting to debate that fact, he spoke up. "I'm not sure about you all, but I don't much feel like waiting around to be rescued. Besides, if we don't get out of here soon, Mary will have my guts for garters." Everyone chuckled before he continued, "Let's see if we can move some of those boxes away from the wall. We should be able to knock out the dry wall with some of the tools lying about and get out of here."

Agreeing, everyone set about their tasks.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The first thing she became aware of was the cold.

As the darkness faded, Hermione could see that she had been dragged into the cage she had been admiring earlier. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she looked around, not seeing that son of a bitch Major Cartwright anywhere.

She considered yelling for help, but realized that the gesture would probably be fruitless and she didn't want to draw attention to herself. Testing the door of the cage, she found it locked, wishing that she had a paper clip or something to pick it with. Back at Hogwarts, she had developed a knack for mastering unlocking charms; it had certainly helped in her adventures with the boys more than once. During the summer they had all been shut up in Grimmauld Place, the twins had helped her to expand her knowledge and taught her how to pick a lock the Muggle way, a skill they had developed to make mischief before they were allowed to perform magic.

Assets, what were her assets? That man had taken her tac-vest, gun, gas mask and, feeling her pockets, her wallet. She needed to get out of here and all she had to use was the clothes off her back: a filthy tank-top, torn jeans, a borrowed jacket, leather boots, her underwear...

Wait. She had a bra. A bra with an under-wire. Quickly unhooking the garment, she slid it off and began to pick apart the seams with nails and teeth. Finally freeing the metal, she twisted it into the correct shape and began to fiddle at the lock. A soft click signaled her success, and Hermione snuck across the room to the door and carefully peered around the corner.

He was coming.

Shit.

This really wasn't her night. She couldn't overpower the bastard; it was only by pure luck that she had managed to do so earlier that night.

Think. She needed to use her brains; there had to be something. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, she reviewed some of what Teal'c had taught her.

The first step in evading an attack is to know it is coming. Once you have knowledge of an attack, can you be successful in countering it. When facing a more powerful opponent, it is often best to rely on the element of surprise to gain the advantage. A swift offensive attack will leave an enemy off-balance long enough for you to retreat or follow up with a move devastating blow.

A way to catch the Major off-guard.

The footsteps were getting closer and she focused on not panicking. There was really no way around it; she would just have to attack and hope that things turned out for the best.

Positioning herself behind the door, she waited, and as the door opened, she burst into action. Kicking the open door, it slammed back into Cartwright, causing him to lose his balance and stumble into the hallway. Before he could regain his footing, she struck out again, aiming her kick at his chest, but he caught her leg at the last minute and pushed her back into the wall, bringing a fist into her stomach, causing her to hunch over. The next blow was aimed at her face, leaving her dazed.

Left to only grapple fruitlessly, Hermione felt a pair of hands once again find their way around her throat, attempting to strangle her for the second time that night. Using one last trick, Hermione exploited the close proximity of her attacker and brought her leg up. The resulting falter of her attacker let her push him away and use his forward momentum to slam his head into the wall.

Coughing, she let herself recover before grabbing the dropped duffel and search its contents. Finding a mobile phone, keys and a weapon, she gave one last look to the groaning man before walking away.

Sometimes it paid to be a woman.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

It had taken a bit of time for Jack to track down everyone who was being sent on this mission and have them briefed after being called into the base in the middle of the night. At the moment, they were at the airfield preparing for the short flight to Denver and securing the last of the supplies. Loading the last bit of cargo into the plane, Jack was just about ready to give the order to take off when an officer ran up shouting and waving a phone. "Colonel, it's for you."

Taking the offered device, Jack held it up against his ear while covering the other to hear better over the sounds of the airfield and shouted, "O'Neill here."

He could barely make out the voice over the line. _"Colonel, this is Dr. Granger. We were unable to recover our people at the warehouse. I believe that the NID figured out we knew the location and took them somewhere else."_

Of course the sneaky bastards had to make things difficult. "Do you have any other idea where they might be?"

_"No, sir." _

Jack debated if he should order her team to move on the hotel, since it sounded like the NID were already aware that they were coming. He dismissed the idea, knowing that the local boys wouldn't be prepared if something alien was used in front of them. Making his decision, he continued his shouting. "I want you to take your team back to the local base and wait for further orders. If you can, see if the guard is out of surgery and re-question him."

There was a noticeable note of hesitation in the doctor's voice before she replied. _"That might be difficult, sir... My liaison officer, Major Cartwright, already dismissed the unit and tried to get rid of me. I've got his mobile phone, and according to the call log, he has been communicating with this Mr. Stern."_

Grimacing at the situation, Jack repeated his earlier order. "I still want you to lay low until back-up arrives. Don't do anything stupid."

_"Colonel, I want to head back to the hotel and see if I can find any more information." _

"Negative, Granger. Don't do anything til we get there," commanded Jack. The girl was in over her head already, and he didn't need her getting in any more trouble for the night.

_"I'm sorry, but you're BREAK-ing up, COLONEL. I-I'll SEE you w-when you gET h-here." _

The click told him she had already hung up. His momentary shock that she even had the gall to try and pull that old trick was quickly overridden by anger. Damn it. Why didn't anyone ever listen? Jumping into the plane, he gave the signal for them to begin take-off, scowling all the while. At Carter's questioning look, he explained, "It seems like our Dr. Granger has this crazy idea not to wait for us before trying to mount a rescue singlehanded." Spotting a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth before she could hide it, he snapped, "What are you laughing at, Carter?"

Trying to be slightly more dignified, she answered, "It's just that... when have you ever not tried to do the same, sir?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Staring at the hotel through the windshield of the jeep she had acquired, Hermione made sure to park the monstrosity out of sight before attempting to sneak back into the place. The answers were somewhere in this place, and she had an idea where to start her search.

After hanging up on Colonel O'Neill, she had contemplated where to start looking for Mr. Stern in the building and had come up with a plan. Mrs. Holm, the soon-to-be mother in-law of Kyle's, had made a point of threatening her earlier that evening. At the time, she hadn't known what the woman was talking about, but recent events had led her to believe that Mrs. Holm might have something to do with the night's activities. It was the only lead she had and was worth checking out as long as she could sneak into the hotel undetected.

Waiting in the shadows, Hermione was able to slip over the rail for the abandoned restaurant and through the entrance, and find the stairwell. Carefully moving up the stairs, she made her way to the fifth floor and eased herself down the corridor to find the woman's room, which she knew from helping with the preparations from the day before.

Knocking at the door, Hermione waited with her face obscured by a vase of flowers she had picked up off the hallway table so she wouldn't be spotted through the peep-hole and her newly procured gun for the woman to come to the door. The sound of movement on the other side of the door told her the woman was in, as well as the muffled, "Who's there?"

In an effort to hide her accent, Hermione used a high twittering voice. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but there seems to be a problem with the flower arrangements. They are already arriving and we have no place to put them."

The shrieked, "What?!" from the other side of the door told Hermione that her ploy was working. The door was jerked open, revealing the robe-clad form of Mrs. Holm. Before the woman could say anything, Hermione raised her gun at the startled figure and backed her into the room, letting the door swing shut behind her.

Setting down the flowers, she finally spoke. "I believe we need to talk, Mrs. Holm."

Falling into a chair, Mrs. Holm shifted nervously. "W-What do you want?"

Keeping her gun leveled at the immovable figure, she spoke. "Where is my team?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," pronounced the woman, then taking an intuitive leap, she continued, "Are you saying that Kyle and his co-workers are missing?"

Hermione didn't comment on her assumption and proceeded in her questioning. "Mrs. Holm, you indicated to me earlier that you were aware of who I was and were keeping tabs on me. You also threatened my person mere hours before not just myself, but my co-workers were attacked. I want to know who you are working for. Who this Mr Stern is?"

Shaking her head in the negative, Mrs. Holm answered, "I don't know anyone by that name."

"Then why did you indicate that I was a danger to your family? What was that whole conversation down in the lobby about?" Hermione was getting frustrated with the woman's denials, but managed to keep her voice even.

Agitated, Mrs. Holm stood and glowered at her. "Listen, Doctor Granger, I have no idea what is going on or where your teammates are. If they are in trouble it is probably your own fault, so don't try and shuffle the blame onto me. You are a danger to this family. I know about your little plan to use my daughter and her fiance for some corporate espionage thing!"

Completely taken aback at the suggestion, Hermione could only utter a strangled, "What?!"

Undeterred in her accusations, Mrs. Holm continued, "Don't try to deny it. I heard your phone conversation the other night. Your talk of an operation and the fact that my daughter would be gone for a week, that you didn't want anyone to be hurt. I had an investigator look into your past and found out that one of my husband's lead competitors has hired your old college roommate to work in his company. You're in a prime position to enact a plan to blackmail this family or steal corporate secrets."

Her confusion finally lifted and Hermione was able to identify the conversation which the woman must have overheard. The previous night, she had been on the phone to Janet, who was driving up for the wedding in the morning. They had been discussing the project Kyle had roped her into organizing: the surprise move into the new home the couple had purchased and which Hermione was going to arrange for when they got back from the honeymoon.

_Hermione had snuck away from the dinner party, almost bored to tears, to call Janet since she knew the doctor would have arrived home by now after her shift. They talked about their respective days before Janet asked about her special project. "Everything is right on schedule." _

_"Are you sure? Do you need more help?" asked Janet in a concerned tone. _

_"No, I don't need this to be a big operation." At the moment she already had way too many people involved in the first place, and didn't need Janet to call in more re-enforcements. _

_"How long are they gone for?" questioned Janet. _

_"They will be gone for a week."_

_"That's good, we'll have plenty of time. So, how are things up there?" _

_Hiding a grimace, despite the fact that Janet couldn't see her face, she replied, "Things are going just fine here."_

_"Meaning you are about ready to strangle someone." _

_They both laughed at her deadpan delivery before Hermione answered with a sigh of exhaustion, "You're right. Hopefully no one will be getting hurt," she said only half seriously. _

_"Well, don't do anything too drastic until I get there," Janet continued to joke. _

_Using the opportunity to change the subject, Hermione asked, "When are you arriving?" _

_"I should be up there by nine Sunday. I'll be leaving early in the morning to avoid traffic, so it might be sooner."_

_"It will be nice to have some backup," Hermione joked. _

_"I take it the boys have abandoned you." _

_Another sigh. "Yes. I've only really been around Mary with all of the girl stuff going on, and her mother has been hovering about with preparations driving everyone..."_

_Janet laughed again. "What did you say Kyle called her? The Peacock of Denver." _

_"Definitely an accurate description."_

_"Can't wait to meet her." The sarcasm in her voice said otherwise. With noticeable reluctance entering her voice, Janet continued, "I should probably hang up. It's late and I have work early. I'll see you Sunday."_

_Also reluctantly, Hermione said, "I look forward to it. Bye."_

Dropping the gun from its continued aim at the woman, Hermione let herself relax. She could see how that conversation must have sounded from one side, and spoke up in self-defense of Mrs. Holm's accusations. "I'm sorry for accusing you of taking my friends. I can now see how that conversation might have sounded; the truth is, I was talking to a friend about organizing some harebrained scheme of Kyle's to surprise Mary with."

"I don't believe you," announced the woman in a rather snotty voice, obviously gaining confidence now that she no longer had a gun pointed at her.

Exasperated by all the events of the night, Hermione let out a muffled curse before focusing back on the frustrating woman. "Your future son-in-law wanted me to get a group of our co-workers together to move all their stuff into the new home they purchased." Seeing that some of her words were starting to sink in, she continued, "I have way too many volunteers, so I don't want it to be a _big operation_. My team has abandoned me to a group of women I don't know, so it would be nice if I could have some female _back-up_."

Staring at Mrs. Holm, she could finally see her speech had gotten through her thick skull. Falling into a chair, Hermione allowed herself a moment of silence as realization set in that her final lead in finding her team was a dead-end and to let the woman processed her words. It was eventually broken by another question. "Then what has happened to Kyle and his friends?"

This was so not her night.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Chapter Notes:

Disclaimer: Both the Harry Potter and Stargate worlds are not owned by me, I am only playing with them a little.

A/N: Lt. Colonel Scott Taylor, Captain Kurtis Blake, Lt. Kyle Lewis are all characters I have created for use in this story.

Staring at the woman who had barged into her room waving a gun moments before, who was now sitting in an armchair radiating defeat, Eloise couldn't help but feel sorry for her and foolish for her previous assumptions.

She stayed silent for another minute before she let her curiosity get the best of her. "Then what has happened to Kyle and his friends?" As she watched, Dr. Granger stiffened at the question and held her silence, refusing to respond. Not willing to let her ignore the issue, she repeated her query, "What happened to Kyle?"

Reluctantly, Hermione answered, "They were ambushed at a bar."

Completely confused, Eloise peppered her with questions, wanting to know what was going on. "Why would someone take them? They haven't done anything, have they? Who would do such a thing?"

The woman just let her talk, lost in her own thoughts.

Getting agitated, she exploded. "Answer me! What have you involved yourselves in? Is this about your work? The secret government job no one can know anything about? Kyle has gone missing the night before his wedding and you can't tell me why! Just how competent are you even at this job, anyway? You come in here waving a gun around, thinking that I was somehow involved in their disappearance. My God, is this a mess! Just who do you think you are? Fine, don't answer, but I'm going to call the police and get someone with real authority to do something."

Picking up the phone to do just that, she was stopped by the quick hand of Dr. Granger snatching it away. "You aren't calling anyone. Now sit!" The fury in the woman's voice had her doing just that. "Now listen. I am sick of your accusations and demands. You have no idea what you are talking about. I already have gotten the proper authorities involved, but this situation is very delicate and I can't have you disrupting it because you feel entitled to answers. Lives are at stake here."

Feeling her blood boil under the contempt in the woman's voice, she protested. "I have every right to know what has happened to my future son-in-law. What have you been doing to try and find them? Attacking innocent people!"

Eloise was surprise to hear the doctor let out a shriek of frustration. "I said I was sorry for that, Mrs. Holm! What the bleeding hell was I supposed to think? You had threatened me and next thing I know, someone tries to kidnap me! I thought you were working for...Oh, never mind."

For the first time, Eloise really took in the woman before her. She was a mess: bloody clothes, torn fingernails, bruises along her head and neck. It looked like she was barely holding herself together, yet she kept going to trying and save her team. Using a far softer tone than she had previously, Eloise asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine."

She didn't believe her, but let the matter slide. "What are you going to do now?"

For a moment, the woman didn't speak before she walked toward the door. "Now I'm going to try and find this Mr. Stern. I'm going to find where he has taken my team. I want you to stay here and not get in the way."

"I could help," she offered.

Dr. Granger gave her a tired smile. "I don't think you can."

Eloise shook her head; she couldn't let her just leave, not after all the trouble she had brought about. With her back facing her about to step out the door, the woman froze at her voice. "Please."

Hermione didn't know if it was the plea or her own exhaustion that stopped her from walking out that door, but she paused in her step. She was probably crazy for even thinking it, but she knew having another set of hands would be a great help. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and studied the other woman. Mrs. Holm was standing there in her pajamas and robe with a disheartened look about her. With a sigh, Hermione agreed, "Alright, but you need to do what I say and don't ask questions I can't answer."

Nodding her head, Mrs. Holm replied, "What can I do?"

Letting her brain run through new ideas, Hermione finally found one which she liked. "I need to find this Mr. Stern. You're going to be my distraction. I want you to create a fuss in the lobby, enough that the front desk clerk is distracted so that I can search the system for the room number of this man."

Frowning, Mrs. Holm asked, "How am I supposed to do that?"

With a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, she answered, "Just be your normal charming self."

Returning her smile with one of her own, Mrs. Holm said, "So you want the tyrannical mother-of-the-bride."

"Exactly, Mrs. Holm," affirmed Hermione.

They discussed details and Mrs. Holm changed out of her pajamas. Cautiously opening the door, Hermione scanned the hallway; the last thing they needed was to get caught by security. Making her way to the stairwell, she gave a nod to Mrs. Holm to proceed to the elevator. Before she could open the door, Hermione was once again stopped by the woman's voice.

"Dr. Granger." Turning at the sound of her name, she gave her attention to the woman. "You can call me Eloise."

Giving the woman a smile at the gesture, she replied, "And I'm Hermione."

With one last acknowledging glance, they both went about their tasks.

Rushing down the stairs, Hermione lingered in the stairwell until Eloise had gained the full attention of the staff on duty. Ignoring the argument over what sounded like chairs for the reception, she focused on sprinting behind the front desk without being seen. Quickly pulling up the information she needed, Hermione used a spare keycard behind the desk and the programming machine to input the next-door room's number onto it. With her task done, she snuck back into the stairwell without getting caught.

She waited for Eloise to conclude her business and walk back to the elevator and signaled which floor to meet on. Another sprint up the stairs later and Hermione found herself just in time to witness Eloise's spectacular performance. Marching out of the elevator right into the guards posted outside of Mr. Stern's doorway, she began to rant about opening the door so she could confront her no-good-cheating-bastard-of-a-husband. The real Mr. Holm had decided to stay at the family home for the night and actually get some sleep instead of waking at the crack of dawn with his wife to finish the preparations.

As the guards manhandled her, Hermione managed to slip over to the unoccupied room next door and use the key card. The green light flashed and she entered the room. Hustling to the balcony, she once again stepped over the side and stretched herself across the distance and grasped the railing of the accompanying balcony. Straining her already tired muscles, she managed to swing across the distance and land on the ledge.

Spotting movement inside, she hid in the shadows as a figure opened the door, demanding to know what the commotion was about. There were too many guards and Hermione knew she couldn't take them all on her own, so without much time to waste, Hermione searched the room for clues. She found nothing shuffling through the papers on the table and the damn laptop was asking for a password. Getting desperate, she spotted the case and opened it to find two vials resting within; not thinking, she grabbed it and snuck back out the window.

As she once again made her escape, Hermione wondered what it said about her life that she was no longer surprised to be running for her life on a daily basis. Maybe Harry wasn't the only one with a saving-people-thing.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

With one last swing of the gardening hoe, the drywall finally gave way, revealing the outside world. The wall had been thicker that they had first suspected, but at the sight of freedom everyone renewed their tasks with enthusiasm. A few minutes later they were free, and Kyle sighed with relief. Sliding through the open space, he was finally able to identify their location.

"Isn't that the hotel we are staying at?" questioned Lt. Colonel Taylor.

"Yes, and that's the golf course," agreed Kyle. Their kidnappers had apparently stashed them in the storage shed in the clubhouse behind the property. Searching the area, he didn't see anyone coming to stop them from escaping. "Not the brightest bunch, are they?"

With some of his good humor restored now that they had escaped, Kurtis spoke up. "Well, what are we going to do now, just sit here and critique their work, or are we going to take these sons-of-bitches down?"

Marching off, the others soon joined him, but Taylor stopped them before they could enter the building. "We need to find out if Granger has called for back-up yet and find out what is going on. Davik and Blake, you two run over to the place next door and call this in. Lewis and William, you're with me; I want this perimeter searched for any more hostiles."

Setting about their tasks, Kyle circled the perimeter keeping care to stay out of sight. After completing the circuit, he met back up with his co-workers.

Taylor started. "I saw activity at all the entrances. Whatever is going on, they have the security teams involved."

"I saw the same," reported Kyle.

"There was also a surveillance unit which was heading toward the clubhouse we were being held in," Davik uttered, gesturing over his shoulder.

They all remained silent, waiting, keeping an eye on their surroundings and for the others to come back with a report on what they had found before making further plans. Suddenly, a commotion from the front entrance caught their attention. Shocked, Kyle watched Hermione run out the entrance, dragging his future mother-in-law behind her while a group of men chased them. The crack of gunfire soon reached their ears as they saw both woman dodging the assault approaching from behind. In a last ditch effort, Hermione had them take cover in the bushes.

Jumping into motion, Kyle and his teammates began to run toward the two woman in an effort to bail them out of whatever trouble the pair had found themselves in. Completely confused, all he could wonder was what the hell was Granger doing with Mary's mom?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

They had barely touched down when the hatch of the plane was being opened to let them out. As the group hustled over to the vehicles, Jack found himself once again being flagged down by an airman. Grabbing the phone without asking who it was, he spoke. "Granger, the next time you try and pull some stunt like that I'll have you-"

_"Sir."_

Confused at the male voice over the line, he asked, "Who am I speaking to?"

_"This is Captain Blake, sir. We escaped our captors a little while ago and are reporting in." _

Breathing a sigh of relief that his people had managed to get to safety, Jack began to issue orders. "Captain, I want you and your men to lay low until my unit arrives. I have SG-1, 4, and 5 with me. Our ETA should be about twenty minutes. We'll have everyone meet up and I will debrief you about the situation."

_"Understood,Colonel."_

After receiving confirmation, Jack continued his interrogation. "Is everyone alright? Does anyone need medical attention?"

_"We are a little black and blue, but nothing too serious. Whatever drugs they gave us have worn off." _

With dread entering his voice, he asked, "What about Dr. Granger? Was she able to find you?"

The confusion over the line was apparent. _"No, we haven't seen her. Davik told us of her attempted rescue back at the bar, but we haven't been in contact with her since. Is she okay, sir?"_

Damn it, they would just have to find the errant doctor latter. Ignoring Blake's question, Jack repeated his earlier sentiments. "Captain take your men and stay out of the way until we get there."

_"But sir- Shit..."_

The voice was cut off by the sound of gunfire in the distance. "Captain! Are you still there? Captain, report!" There was no response.

"What is it, O'Neill?" asked Teal'c from behind him.

Turning, Jack could see that he had the attention of the entire group. "Gunshots," he informed the Jaffa. Addressing the whole group, he said, "Alright, people, let's load up; we need to get going. The shit has just hit the fan."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It didn't take long for Mr. Stern to realize something was amiss in his hotel room after the disturbance at his door had been taken care of. The guards had finally convinced the woman to leave after he had made his presence known and she realized her husband was not there. Scanning the sitting room, he observed the displacement of several documents and that his laptop was on. Nothing seemed to be missing until he looked at where the case should have sat and found it to be gone.

Realizing that the entire thing had been a setup, he picked up the phone and called down to the security station. Once the line was picked up, he spoke. "I want the woman who was just outside my room taken in for questioning the moment she exits the elevator. Also send a team out to the shed and check on our guests."

_"Yes, Mr. Stern, we will get right on it. The team is on their way over to check on our guest and I've just pulled up the security camera's feed...Now that's odd." _

"Is there a problem?" There was no answer from the other side of the line and Mr. Stern repeated his query.

The security officer finally answered. _"We have reviewed the security footage from your floor and there appears to be a second woman who entered the unoccupied suite next to your own. I'm trying to identify her, but we can't get a good look at her face."_

The corners of his mouth turned up in amusement at the news. "Don't worry about an ID, it sounds like Dr. Granger has managed to once again involve herself where she is not wanted. Have both women apprehended and brought up to my room. I would like to speak with them. And make sure to take care not to damage the case they are in procession of."

_"Yes, sir." _

Well, well; it seemed that Dr. Granger was far more resourceful than her file had indicated. How interesting. Perhaps he might persuade her to become an ally; after all, it seemed that several of his people would need to be retired after the poor performances they had shown tonight.

Sitting back in the recliner, he waited for his people to do their jobs and was soon displeased by the sound of gunfire echoing through the building. Yes, he would definitely be hiring before the night was through.

With a sigh, Mr. Stern picked up his phone to make a call to his clients. "It appears that our meeting will have to be rescheduled for another time; the situation here has become problematic at the moment." Ending the call, he stood and proceeded to place all of the information lying about in a briefcase before exiting the room and signaling that the guards in the hall should follow him.

It was time to cut his losses and leave.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Neither Stargate or Harry Potter belongs to me, I am only playing with their characters and worlds for a bit of fun.

Diving into a bush at full speed probably wasn't her brightest idea, but at the moment Hermione was a little too distracted trying to dodge her pursuers to think the move through. When she had exited the stairwell of the hotel, she had found several guards waiting to grab her and Eloise as she stepped out of the elevator. Pulling out her gun, she had fired haphazardly toward the trio as she grabbed Eloise and dragged her out of the building. Her ammo quickly ran out and the momentary surprise only lasted so long before the pursuers opened fire of their own.

Landing hard, she helped Eloise to keep low to the ground and scramble further into the foliage. Knowing they wouldn't have long until they were captured, Hermione was shocked by the sight of the security guards suddenly being tackled from behind. As she watched, Kyle took down one, then another, as Davik took out the last. A firm hand latched onto her arm, hauling her up, and she came face-to-face with her CO Scott Taylor. "I'm so glad you guys are here," she said, giving the man a hug, relieved by the last-minute rescue.

Helping Eloise to stand, he replied, "Don't thank me just yet; it looks like we have company."

Looking at what had caught his attention, Hermione spotted another group of guards rushing out of the hotel.

Shit.

Latching onto Davik, who was still pounding on his guy at her feet, she spoke, "I think we need to get out of here. Run!"

Following the rest of the group into the trees away from the hotel, Hermione noticed that Kyle now had a hold of his soon-to-be mother-in-law and was making sure she kept up. Burning with curiosity over how they had escaped, but realized it wasn't the best time to be asking them about it, Hermione put her breath to better use, increasing her speed even more.

Time ticked by and they eventually found themselves alone in the middle what she thought might be the seventh hole fairway. Huffing with exertion, Eloise gasped out, "Alright, I want to know...what is going on now. Hermione...said you had been kidnapped...What happened?"

Receiving some pointed looks from the guys, Hermione was relieved when Kyle took over explaining. "Ah, about that; we kind of escaped. I'm not exactly sure what is going on, but even if I did, I'm sorry; it would be classified." After seeing the frown forming on Eloise's face, he went on the defensive. "What are you doing out here, anyway? You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous."

Glaring at the younger man, Eloise fought back. "Don't give me that, young man. I hear that my daughter's fiancé had gone missing the night before the wedding, along with a group of his friends, and you expect me to do nothing about it..."

As Eloise continued to chew out Kyle, Hermione's attention was grabbed by Scott. Pulling her off to the side, he asked, "Granger, would you like to tell me what Mrs. Holm is doing out here?"

At the anger in his voice, Hermione bristled and began to explain in a professional tone. "There was a misunderstanding, sir."

"Go on," he prompted.

"Earlier this evening, Eloise came to me and implied that I was a danger to her family. She indicated that she knew something about me, rumors of some sort, and would be keeping an eye on me," reported a flustered Hermione.

"Why didn't you report this?" demanded Scott.

Defensively, she replied, "I wasn't sure what she was talking about; most of what she said didn't make sense at the time. After I was attacked, you lot were taken and my local team proved to be unreliable, I thought that she might know who was behind this whole mess. I kind of threatened her and we both yelled a lot. Turns out she overheard a conversation I had with Janet the other day about Kyle's project and jumped to the conclusion I was some corporate spy, come to destroy her family."

Clearly puzzled over what she had said, all he could utter was a strangled, "What?!"

Shaking her head at the absurdity of the suggestion, she elaborated. "She had an investigator look into my past, and apparently an old roommate of mine from college works for her husband's competitor. Therefore, in her mind, I wanted to see her downfall and was plotting blackmail or something while Kyle and Mary were on honeymoon."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Scott looked like he was fighting the urge to either laugh or have a meltdown. Hermione stayed silent, waiting for him to say something, occasionally wincing at the language that Eloise was continuing to berate Kyle with, while he tried to defend himself.

_"...just because you are the one taking the risk doesn't mean that my daughter isn't still affected. I don't need to have her heart get broken because you come home in a body bag..." _

Finally composing himself, Scott chose to ignore the issue for the moment and move on to his previous concern. "That still doesn't explain what she is doing out here."

She knew he wouldn't like her answer, but spoke anyway. "Well, I needed some help and she offered." Seeing the expression on his face, she quickly added, "It's kind of hard to say no to her. Sir."

Turning his attention back on the arguing pair, he let out a sigh of resignation. "I guess not. We don't have the time now, but we'll talk more later."

Before he could rejoin the group, she quickly jumped in with a question of her own. "Ah, where are the others? Did they get away?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, they went to find a phone and report in. Let's get back to the others and see if we can find a way back to the others." Stepping into the middle of the argument, Scott whistled, gaining the attention of both parties. "Here's the game plan: we need to stay out of sight of any patrols heading this way, but we also need to hook back up with Blake and William before they are re-captured. Everyone stay in the trees and we will slowly make our way back to the hotel. Hopefully they have called in back-up and it will be waiting for us. Head out."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

At the sound of gunshots, Kurtis dropped the phone he was holding and took cover along with Major William. It didn't take long to determine the source of the sound was the hotel they had left their friends at. Not needing to say anything, both men began to run back toward the disturbance, leaving the payphone swinging behind them.

Taking cover, they watched as a group of armed men began pursuit of a group who was likely comprised of their teammates. Damn. Running through several potential possibilities in his head, Kurtis finally came up with an idea. Using a hand signal to grab William's attention, he gestured for the Major to follow his lead. Keeping low, they slowly retraced their steps back to the clubhouse they were previously held in. He planned to apprehend one of the golf carts to expedite a search of the area to find the others.

Ducking out of sight of a couple guards who were searching the area, they were able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

_"There is no sign of where they have gone." _

_"Should we head back and help out with the rest of the search?" _

_"No, our orders are to secure the area out by the tenth hole as a landing pad for Mr. Stern's helicopter." _

Sneaking away from the pair, Kurtis and William avoided notice as the guards got into a golf cart and drove away. Not wasting any time, both men slid into the other cart and followed.

"Who's this Mr. Stern?" questioned William.

"No idea, but did you see how quick they were to obey his orders? He's probably the one in charge of this whole mess, and I for one would like some answers," replied Kurtis, pressing the gas pedal further down.

"What about Colonel O'Neill and the rest of the back-up? Shouldn't we wait for them?" asked William.

Shit.

He had forgotten about that. Stopping the cart, "Look, you head back to the hotel and tell the teams what is going on when they show. I'm going to keep going; somebody has to keep an eye on the situation, otherwise the bastards are going to get away." Jumping out of the cart, the Major gave a nod of agreement before beginning to sprint back to the hotel.

Putting his foot down once again on the gas, Kurtis found himself flying down the dark faraway determined to reach the copter before it took off with its passenger.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The sound of soft footfalls was soon overpowered by the blades of an approaching helicopter coming in low to their location. "Hide," was his quick command, and Scott was satisfied to see his group taking cover in the tree line. They had been stumbling through the dark trying to avoid patrols for only a few minutes when the disturbance arrived.

Staying low in the brush, he watched as the helicopter touched down not even 30 meters away from their position. Trying to get a better look, he crawled forward and peered over the tall grass. The lack of SG personnel told him it wasn't their backup. The craft had powered down and was obviously waiting for someone to arrive, but he didn't know who.

"What's going on?" hissed Granger who had also moved forward toward his left.

Keeping his voice low, he replied, "I'm not sure; they're waiting for someone."

Just then, the headlights of a golf cart arrived. They ducked out of sight of the light and watched as several men stepped out of the cart. The lead figure was wearing a business suit, while the others were outfitted like the other guards in the area, armed to the teeth.

Another voice intruded into the silence at that moment. "That's the man. That's Mr. Stern," exclaimed Mrs. Holm, who, it appeared, had also moved forward for a closer look.

Scott was confused. "Who?"

Granger took up the explanation. "The one in charge of this whole operation. The one who we were running from," she clarified.

He knew he had asked her to hold off the explanation for later, but it seemed that was no longer an option, and he waved at her to continue. Granger managed to give a brief summary of what she had learned about this Mr. Stern, leaving him to begin organizing their next move. There wasn't much he could do about it now; his first priority was to try and get back to the hotel and find the rest of the team. They could wait for the backup Granger had called in to arrive, not try some half-cocked plan at apprehending some NID agent without any weapons and an unauthorized civilian tagging along.

He was about to continue their retreat when another golf cart came crashing through the area out of control. The thing struck a tree head-on and stopped. Two of the guards rushed to the cart and grabbed the driver, who had stumbled out of the thing after the crash. Pulling him forward, they dumped him at the feet of Mr. Stern and pointed their guns at the man. Scott finally got a glimpse of the guy when he lifted himself onto his knees.

Blake. Shit.

"Well, what do we have here? Who are you?" voiced Mr. Stern, but Kurtis kept silent. With a gesture at one of the guards, the butt of a gun was brought down onto the closed-mouthed figure. They all heard a grunt of pain as Mr. Stern repeated his question. "Who are you?" Again silence.

Signaling to everyone that they should fall back, Scott watched as the group proceeded to crawl back into the shadows before following. This was bad, really bad. It wouldn't take long for the men to tire of asking questions and just kill Blake. Staring at the faces of the others, they knew it as well; something had to be done now. "We don't have much time; any ideas?" he asked the group at large.

The uncertainty in Hermione's tone was obvious as she spoke up. "I'm not sure how much time it will buy for a distraction, but I still have this," she lifted up the case she had been toting around, showing them the vials lying inside. "I could try to trade it back for Kurtis while you either try to sneak around and surprise the guards."

It wasn't the best plan, but they had no other options at the moment. Scott mapped it out in his head before handing out assignments. "Davik, stay here and keep an eye on Mrs. Holm just in case. Kyle, you're with me; we're going to have to be quick and circle around from behind." Turning his focus onto Hermione, he sent her a measured look, "Buy as much time as you can and try not to get killed. We don't know what is in those vials. They are not going to give you Blake, so try and figure out some other way to hold their attention."

With a nod, she stood up and walked out of the trees toward the heated confrontation in front of the chopper.

He didn't stay to watch as she interrupted the interrogation, but he caught her voice as it rang out. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I believe we have some business to attend to."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The ride over to the hotel was spent with Jack issuing instructions to the various teams in regards to what their objectives were. SG-4's primary task was to secure the ground floor, while SG-5 did a point-by-point search of each level, and SG-1 would be left looking for the location of Mr. Stern and his group. He had hoped they would be able to use some of the local personnel for backup, but after Granger's call, they knew that until an investigation was conducted that would be a bad idea. At the moment Jack's priority was to secure the location before continuing the search for his missing people.

Pulling into the back of the hotel, Jack double-checked that his radio was secured before jumping out of the vehicle, followed by his team. They had to act fast before the enemy caught on to what they were doing.

The sounds of gunfire reached his ears as the other teams arrived and proceeded to take out their targets. Carefully, his team approached the security station and took out the guards. Knowing her role, Carter began to search for answers on the system while everyone else stood at watch.

Keeping an eye on the corridor, his attention was grabbed by the approach of two armed men who also took notice of him and opened fire. Sending off a few rounds with Teal'c providing cover with a Zat, Jack noticed that Carter had started yelling from behind him. "There are five more moving towards this position!" she announced.

Keeping up the fire, he yelled right back, "How much longer do you need?"

The pause was barely noticeable as she completed typing on the computer. "I just finished, Stern has already checked out."

"Fall back," was Jack's only command as the enemy fire increased. The retreat didn't take long; SG-1 had plenty of practice in working under extreme circumstances. Teal'c fired off Zats, Daniel held his own with a gun, while Carter jury-rigged the elevator after someone cut off power. It turned out that Mr. Stern had already left the building, and judging by the radio reports Jack was getting of a helicopter showing up on radar, he knew they were retreating.

The activity around the hotel slowly tapered off as the teams finished securing the area. Before Jack could start reorganizing a team to be sent out to stop the man's escape, a commotion in the front of the lobby caught his attention. The missing Major William ran into the room and started kicking up a fuss about Blake going off alone while the rest of the missing personnel were all running around the golf course trying not to be shot.

Leaving SG-4 and Daniel in charge of completing the cleanup and to face the mob of hotel guests that had already begun to descend into the main lobby for answers, Jack ran followed by William and the rest of SG-1.

Not bothering to try a stealth approach, the team sprinted across the grass toward the landing chopper, hoping to get there in time. Whoever this Mr. Stern was, Jack wanted to know what the hell was going on and why his weekend had to once again be ruined by some emergency because of the NID.

He really hated those guys.

The sudden impact of a body sent him crashing to the ground as gunshots once again rang out in the dark. William, who had pushed him out of the way, was staying low as Carter returned fire and Teal'c began to try and move around the group for a better angle. Handing the Major his handgun, Jack joined in the firefight as well.

After taking out the last guard, his team took off running once again, increasing their speed as the sound of the chopper blades once again picked up.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All recognizable Harry Potter characters, places, etc. belong to JK Rowling. The recognizable Stargate characters, place, etc. belong to MGM, Scifi and the creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright.

A/N: This is the last chapter for this story. The next story for this series I will begin posting next week.

Kurtis was having a difficult time keeping himself focused on his surroundings as the security guard once again hit him in the head. Despite all of that, he still managed to identify the voice which rang out of the shadows. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I believe we have some business to attend to." Stepping into the light provided by the copter was Dr. Hermione Granger looking like she had been put though the ringer.

Stern, the sadistic son-of-a-bitch, managed to put on a polite frown before speaking. "I'm sorry, Miss Granger, is it?"

"_Doctor_ Granger," she corrected.

"Well then, doctor, I believe that you have me at a disadvantage. I was unaware that we had any business to conduct."

As Kurtis watched, a small predatory smile appeared on Hermione's face. "I believe there are quite a few things you are unaware of, Mr. Stern."

Clearly rising to her challenge, he stepped forward circling her still figure like a shark that smelled blood. "Why don't you enlighten me, my dear?"

Not showing any hint of intimidation she spoke. "As I'm sure you have noticed there is currently a rather large team headed this way prepared to arrest you and your people." He remained silent, but she didn't wait for a confirmation and continued, "Your about to flee in a helicopter, no doubt you have a secure area to meet up with someone who is paid off and will let you quietly escape. Really it's all too predictable. You messed up and are running, hoping that you can save yourself. Do you really think they are going to let you go, especially when you lost something of theirs?"

A look of rage raced across Mr. Stern's face at her condescending tone. Kurtis almost felt sorry for the man; whatever Granger was playing at she was being downright terrifying.

"Do you have a point to all this? If not I have a flight waiting for me."

"Yes I do. I would like to propose a mutually beneficial deal. You need to please your bosses and be able to escape without being caught, I can help you."

Not showing any surprise at her offer, Stern remained silent pondering the proposal. "And how may one ask are you going to do that?"

"Details, details." She sent him a confident smirk while remaining evasive. "I have my ways." Holding up the case she had brought she continued. "I also have something of yours."

Stern stepped even closer to Granger and Kurtis found that he could barely catch what the man was saying. "What is in it for the lady? I assume you would like your teammate back before he is permanently scarred."

Tensing in the grip the guards held him under, he protested, "Granger, don't give him anything! Get out of-" A blow across his face cut off the rest of his objection. Stunned, it took Kurtis a moment to recover before he could focus back on the conversation, only to be shocked by the sight of Hermione laughing. Kurtis felt a sense of foreboding as Granger recovered from her moment of mirth.

What the hell was going on?

Leveling Stern with a piercing gaze she continued. "Actually there is something else that I would prefer. You see, I have come to the realization that the only reason that I escaped both of your attempts to capture me is that my official file didn't prepare you for the possibility that I was a threat." Stepping even closer to the man she was addressing, Granger let her gaze move past Stern to stare at the guards flanking him before catching Kurtis's eye. Sending her a glare he remained silent, wanting to hear her explanation.

"If you had only treated me like a worthy adversary, I have no doubt that anyone on your team could have taken me out. I haven't been working at the SGC long, but I was under the impression that I had earned their respect, that I was trusted to take care of myself. Instead, I get a team that constantly treats me like I am going to trip and kill myself, and my official file basically states the same. That wasn't what I signed up for."

The mocking in his voice was obvious. "And I'm suppost to believe you are willing to betray your team all because they don't like you."

"You can take it anyway you like," replied Granger.

Stern searched her face for a moment before he spoke. "You realize I could just take that right now. Why should I believe anything you have to say?"

Once again confidence imbued her tone. "Because now you're intrigued."

A full bodied laugh flooded Stern's form. "What do you want, Dr. Granger?"

The smirk on her face grew and Kurtis could do nothing but watch horrified as his newest teammate sold them out.

_Why? Yeah, they had gotten off to rough start, but nothing to warrant this. It made no sense. Something else must be going on, they couldn't have misjudged someone that badly. Could they?_

For a moment Granger was silent, perhaps savoring the power trip she must be on. Before she could begin to list her demands the sound of gunfire in the distance caught everyone's attention. In a move which was surprisingly fast for someone of Stern's age, he had a gun pressed into Granger's side. "Oh, I see how it is, you're the distraction. Such a pity I was looking forward to us working together." Stepping away from Hermione now in possession of the case and ignoring her protests, Stern pushed her toward the guards who had been interrogating Kurtis.

"Make sure they're dealt with."

As Kurtis watched, Stern signaled to the pilot and soon the chopper's blades began to cut through the air. Kurtis was pissed. What had she been thinking? What the hell kind of escape plan had that been? Sending her what he hoped was a withering look for her stupid plan, all he received was a silently mouthed sorry from his teammate as the guards grabbed her.

The cold metal of a muzzle touched the back of his head. He waited for the accompanying blast, when suddenly he felt the pressure of the guards' hands release their hold as they were tackled from behind. Rolling out of the way he recognized the rest of his teammates as they grappled with their opponents. They both had things under control, so he grabbed one of the dropped guns and spirited toward the chopper. Aiming at the pilot, he fired off two rounds which punched through the glass catching the man in the shoulder and the control equipment. Kurtis made sure the propeller had begun to slow before turning his focus to Stern, who had already jumped out of the cockpit and was trying to retreat.

The blast of a Zat caught the escaping figure from out of nowhere. Kurtis quickly whipped around to face the new threat and was met by the sight of Teal'c stepping out of the bushes followed by Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill and Major William. Heaving a sigh of relief, Kurtis spoke, "It's good to see you guys."

"Having a nice night, Captain?" questioned the Colonel in a joking manor.

"It's been a blast, sir." Kurtis bantered back.

Remembering his teammates, he jogged back over to see how they were doing just in time to see Kyle land one final blow to the guard's face, knocking him out. Hermione was already being helped up by Scott, who had succeeded in taking care of his guard. A frown crossed his face as he remembered that he had quite a few things to say to her involving idiotic schemes. Seeing him approach, she walked forward with a look of one preparing to do battle ignoring the others for the moment.

Meeting in the middle he could only stare at her for a moment before speaking. "I gotta say that I didn't know you had such a talent for acting." His voice held just enough censor that she knew that all was not being forgotten, but that he was willing to put it aside for the moment.

Dryly, she replied. "It comes from all those years of lying to teachers."

Not buying it he snorted, "Oh, come on. What did you have to lie about? You were probably a teacher's pet. A goody-two-shoes." She wasn't getting off that easily, there was no way that his strait-laced brainy teammate was a trouble-maker back in the day.

"Please, I went to a boarding school for years."

He smirked as his imagination went wild at that comment, picturing school uniforms and nuns with rulers. Seeing the line his thoughts were taking, Granger elaborated on her statement with an eye roll. "Get your head out of the gutter, Blake. I just meant we were adept at sneaking in and out of the dorm down to the kitchens." At his chuckle she smacked him in the shoulder. "You obviously don't know anything about prefects or school codes of conduct, so I won't even bother trying to explain."

Controlling his laughter, Kurtis let his usual flirting tone back into his voice. "No, I want to know all about your wild side Granger. Where you a bad girl?"

Throwing her hands into the air Hermione gave a huff of annoyance. "Men. It was nothing like that. We were kids for goodness-sake, we snuck out to the local village for candy or things from the joke shop. We played pranks on classmates or teachers, stuff like that."

He could only grin at her frustration. "Alright, alright I believe you."

"Good." She turned back to rejoin the rest of the group, but at the last moment she swung back around to face him with a mischievous look. "Although I did forgot to mention that the place was co-ed." Spinning around, she sauntered back to the group leaving him grinning. He had to admit she was always full of surprises.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Daniel sometimes really hated his job.

Yes, it was exciting traveling to distant worlds, finding out more about alien cultures, and discovering more about Earth's true history. Then there were the times he and his team found themselves being tossed into cells, running for their lives or in a desperate gambit to try and save the world. He would much rather be facing one such situation at the moment than the crowd in front of him.

After Jack had taken off with Sam, Teal'c and William, it seemed the entire hotel had decided to come down to the lobby and find out what was going on. At the moment he was trying his best at coming up with a cover story on the spot while pacifying the pajama-clad crowd. It also didn't help that more gunshots could all of a sudden be heard in the distance, causing the crowd to become even more panicky.

Once more Daniel began to speak. "Please could I have everyone calm down? This is a classified military operation. If I could just have your cooperation, this situation will soon be resolved. Everyone move back and let our personal complete their tasks." As several people in the audience complied he sighed, "thank you." Before he could turn his focus back to the rest of the SG personal around, he found himself being confronted by a woman. "I'm sorry ma'am, but you need to go back with the others."

Standing her ground. "I'm not going anywhere until I find out were my fiancée is. Lt. Kyle Lewis, where is he!?" she demanded.

Caught off guard Daniel could only blink at the woman before his brain began to work again. He had momentarily forgotten that the whole reason they were there in the first place was because Lt. Lewis and his team had been vacationing in Denver for the wedding ceremony. Racking his brain for the woman's name he gently lead her off to the side. "Uh, the last report I had said Lt. Lewis was fine. We are still trying to get things settled at the moment so if you could stay out of the way I might be able to find out more, Miss Holm."

Giving him a rather intense look she finally relented. "Okay. Fine and it's Mary by the way."

"Mary it is. Uh, I'm going to go check in on the progress of things," Daniel said with a reassuring smile as he walked away.

Radioing the teams provided him with no new information for the moment, so Daniel concentrated on managing the crowd some more, hoping that the local support Lt. Cross called in would be arriving soon. He really hated dealing with all the paperwork something like this called for, all so the program could be kept under wraps.

When he first started working for the military, all those years ago, he had found the idea of letting the government control something as groundbreaking as the Stargate quite difficult to swallow. Time had taught him differently as he had grow close to the military personal on the base and seen firsthand the kind of destruction a civilian organization like the NID could accomplish. The idea that the program could one day be made public was very frightening; Earth just wasn't ready for that. The knowledge that other civilizations were out there, that mankind was not alone, would likely be horrifying to most. Despite their efforts he knew one day that it would happen and Daniel really hoped that they wouldn't screw it up.

The sound of sirens pulling up to the front of the hotel drew his attention back to the situation at hand and Daniel sighed as he walked over to once again prevent everything from spiraling out of control. Someone must have called the police when the gunshots were first heard and the cops were there to save the day. Thankfully a vehicle from the local base also arrived at the same time to smooth over any misunderstandings and provide the official paperwork for the operation.

As things began to settle down he got a call from Jack saying that everything out on the golf course was secure and that the missing personal were accounted for. Smiling he told Mary. "Lt. Lewis is fine he will be here in just a moment."

"Thank goodness," breathed out the relieved woman who proceed to hug him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

_A few hours later_

The sun had barely begun to make an appearance in the east when Janet arrived at the hotel. Her original plan to wake up early and drive into Denver had been shattered by a phone call from General Hammond a few hours previous. Apparently the NID had some type of operation going on and SG-11, along with the other military personal there, had been taken. According to the General, Hermione had managed to elude capture, and several teams including SG-1 had been sent to help in the rescue. The operation was successful with no major injuries, but, since she had already been planning to come, Hammond had arranged some air transport so that she would be able to provide an extra hand in the wrap up.

After organizing both her personal and medical supplies which she had to stop by the base to retrieve, she had hopped onto a transport. Walking through the front of the hotel she was met by the sight of a large group of people standing around in their pajamas. Once the initial moment of confusion pasted, Janet was able to quickly locate Daniel off to the side talking with a group of hotel staff. As she got closer she caught the tail end of what he was saying.

"...I'm sure that everything will be finished up shortly and then everyone can go back to their own duties."

With a sigh he turned away from the group and spotted her, "Janet!"

Smiling, "Hey, Daniel. Can you tell me where I need to go?"

"Just follow me back into the conference room area. We are using it as a base of operations." Following him through the hallway Janet was directed into the large room. At one end she could see Jack talking to Sam as they examined a case, others were organizing the non-disclosure forms for the hotel occupants, while a few were receiving first aid from a member of SG-5. It seemed that the prisoners had already been transported out to the local base. Making her way toward the slightly battered group she took charge from Lt. Wells.

He quickly ran through the list of injuries everyone had sustained while she took the time to preform her own exam. The worst it seemed was Hermione whose neck was rather badly bruised, but Janet didn't think any permanent damage had been done. As a result of his golf cart crash, Kurtis had some bruised ribs, a black eye and a split lip, but was otherwise fine. Kyle had a slight concussion and she made sure to list off the instructions he should follow for the next 24 hours.

"So does that mean that the wedding can still go on?" asked Kyle once she had finished the exam.

Surprised, Janet inquired. "You still want to go forward with the wedding?"

"Hell yeah, both Mary and I talked and we don't want to postpone again." Shifting in his seat he sent a look at the doorway. "Do you think I can go now? I want to make sure Eloise is okay with everything. She has had a long night."

"Al-alright, just take it easy." Confused she turned her attention back to the smiling group.

Hermione taking pity on her explained. "Eloise, Mary's mom, kind of went along on an adventure with me last night and has been quite helpful in calming Mary. She has helped to smooth things over and has already called the caterers to change the arrangements for the day."

"Eloise, huh?"

Hermione blushed at the observation. "It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is." Before Janet could interrogate her further, Sam grabbed her attention wanting her opinion on the vials they had recovered from the NID. All Jack and Sam could figure out was that they had been taken from Area-51, but they didn't know to what purpose.

Looking through the notes they had collected from Mr. Stern's notes, Janet hazarded a guess. "Based on the chemical analysis I would have to say it is similar to the compound Hathor used when she took over the base. They are inert by themselves, but combined they would be a very powerful drug of compulsion."

Jack grimaced at her description. "I thought we finally got rid of the bitch and now the NID wants to try and duplicate her tricks? Why the hell were the guys out in Area-51 messing with this stuff anyway?"

Ignoring his disgust over the mention of the former Goa'uld, Janet tried to suppress the memories over that particular incidence. "They must have been working on stimulating certain parts of the brain for different purposes using samples of the original compound and modifying it."

"Basically brainwashing," retorted Jack.

"Not necessarily," replied Janet trying not to encourage Jack.

Shaking his head. "Tamato, tomato. Look I don't want to nitpick this to death. Let's just fix this mess and leave everything else 'til the debriefing later. Okay?" they nodded their heads in agreement. "So how are the band of misfits over there, Doc?" he asked gesturing to the recovered personal.

"No lasting damage. Lewis has a mild concussion, but mostly it is just bruises and scrapes. Even Captain Blake only has a couple bruised ribs, a black-eye and split lip. The worst seems to be Hermione, she has several cuts on her hands and her throat is rather badly bruised. She can still speak which is a good sign and the bruising will probably take a couple weeks to heal, but she's fine."

"Fine. If they are cleared, then get them out of here. It will probably help to pacify the crowd out there," ordered Jack. And in a grumble she was, in all likelihood, not suppose to hear, he added "Just what I need, another civilian who likes harebrained rescue schemes."

Janet wondered what Jack was complaining about now and raised an eyebrow at Sam in question as he walked off. Most of the events were still sketchy, but Sam was able to give her a more detailed account of the night's adventure, including Hermione's role, but there were still holes in the story. Taking note of the time, she left Sam to double check her patients before they drifted off to their various wedding activities for the day. Catching Hermione on the way out the door she invited herself along to the breakfast buffet to get her friend's version of the night's events.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hermione ducked out of sight of Colonel O'Neill once again, really not wanting to have a dressing down right now. She had been sitting at a table for the reception talking to Daniel to pass the time when she had spotted him approaching. The ceremony had gone off without a hitch, despite the earlier upheaval, and Eloise had done a fantastic job rearranging the seating arrangements to allow all the SGC personal a chance to attend. The Colonel had been trying to corner her for a talk since they had arrived back at the hotel and it had become much harder to avoid him with their tables being so close.

Breaking off their talk about the discrepancies in the Goa'uld translations from P5-198, Hermione slipped out of the main room to find a most unusual sight. Eloise was directing Teal'c, who somehow had actually acquired a suit, to help bring in another case of wine bottles. The sight of the older woman ordering around the huge Jaffa was ridiculous and Hermione stifled a laugh.

Not quite succeeding in her goal, Eloise turned around and caught sight of her before narrowing her eyes. "I don't know what you're laughing about. I have twenty more guests then I was expecting and someone has to make sure they are fed as well. This fine young man here has been helping me to bring in some more supplies while everyone else has been enjoying themselves." Biting her cheek, Hermione managed to control her laughter for the moment, but was almost undone by the 'young man' comment. Teal'c was older than both of them combined. Judging by the lift of his eyebrow, the Jaffa agreed with her.

"I'm sorry. Do you need any more help?" offered Hermione. She really didn't want to get on the woman's bad side again, just when they had come to a silent understanding of sorts.

Waving her back into the reception room, Eloise said. "No, no, we're fine, this is the last of it. Just put in down here." She directed Teal'c pointing toward one of the tables.

Once again spotting Colonel O'Neill, who was now blocking the exit, Hermione knew that her chance of escape was gone. Thinking on her toes, she grabbed Teal'c's hand. "Great! Then Te-" at the slight shake of his head she switched to his common alias, "Murray and I can hit the dance floor."

She then proceeded to practically drag him to the dance floor, guiding Teal'c through the movements until he caught on. Having made sure that he wasn't going to maim her feet, Hermione lifted her gaze to meet that of a clearly mystified Jaffa. Embarrassed, she started to stutter out an explanation.

"I-I'm so so-sorry. It's just that C-Colonel O'Neill was coming and I-I ju-just..." Breaking off she took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing, all while Teal'c gave her a curious look. "Sorry. Colonel O'Neill has been trying to speak with me about my actions last night and I would like to put off the disciplinary talk until tomorrow. Today is Kyle's wedding and I wouldn't want to see it spoiled because he felt it was his place to step in and defend my stupidity. I know the others would and I don't deserve it. My actions were reckless. I could have gotten everyone killed."

She felt close to tears, she didn't want to have a breakdown in front of Teal'c when he broke through herself pity and spoke. "I do not believe Colonel O'Neill would discipline you for last night's events. You reacted to your teammate's disappearance with a swift and decisive action to obtain their location. Colonel O'Neill would do much the same."

Feeling a bit better at the reassurance she smiled. "Thank you, Teal'c."

He inclined his head at her in acceptance of her words before bring up a new subject. "It would however be advisable to continue your training further. There are many techniques with which to defeat a stronger opponent without letting them get hold of you. We should begin sparing with a weapon for your next session."

She could feel his eyes on her bruised neck and she fought hard not to show anymore embarrassment. "I would very much like to learn."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sinking into the chair next to Daniel, Jack let out a huff of frustration. He had been trying to corner Dr. Granger all day for a talk and yet every time he managed to track her down she slipped away.

Hearing the noise, Daniel turned away from his conversation with Sam and asked, "What's the matter, Jack?"

Sending a glare at the cheerful scientist he answered, "I've been trying to have a word with Granger all day, but I can't seem to be able to catch her."

Not fazed at all by his bad mood Daniel provided an explanation, "She's been avoiding you." At his raised eyes, Daniel elaborated. "She doesn't want to get into an argument with the wedding going on today and would rather wait for you to chew her out some other time."

"What?!" Jack was confused. "Where did she get the idea that I wanted to yell at her from?"

Sam spoke up from the other side of Daniel. "I believe Janet informed her of your earlier displeasure regarding her actions."

He ran a hand across his face. "The Doc needs to stop her gossiping. I don't want to yell at her."

Daniel did a remarkable impersonation of Teal'c with the raised eyebrow. "You don't?"

"No, I don't." Both gave him a look of disbelief. "I don't. Look, I know I was mad earlier, but I got to thinking and Carter's right. When have I or anyone on the team for that matter let orders stand in the way of rescuing someone? Granger was just acting like any other SG member is supposed to."

Daniel sent him a surprised look. "Well that's certainly different. Are you feeling alright, Jack."

"Oh, don't give me that," he said with a scowl aimed at the scientist. "I know I was acting a bit irrationally earlier, I guess I'm just not use to having another crazy civilian running around trying to save the day."

The pointed look was once again ignored by Daniel who smiled. "Hermione is remarkably good at adapting to the unexpected."

Not knowing how to reply, Jack let his gaze wander around the room until he spotted Dr. Granger carefully guiding Teal'c to the music in a series of perfectly preformed steps. He had to agree with Daniel, Hermione Granger certainly was perfectly at home with the insanity that was working at the SGC. Not only that, but she seemed perfectly at home amongst the unusual. Her friendship with Teal'c was a prime example, most of the staff still finding him quite intimidating.

He watched as the Jaffa spun the woman around with a stoic face. "Very unexpected."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A car pulled up to the street corner he had been waiting on and the door was pushed open. Detaching himself from the shadows, Mr. Reeves stepped into the vehicle. As it re-entered traffic, he let himself relax in the soft leather seat.

The other occupant spoke. "It looks like Stern has proved himself to be quite unable to handle the responsibilities he was given."

Reeves didn't answer; there was nothing to say.

"It seems that we now have need of a new intermediary, Mr. Reeves. Try not to screw it up this time," ordered Kinsey.

The car came to a stop and Reeves stepped out onto the random street, slamming the door as he exited. It was good to know that everything had worked out exactly to his plans. Stern and Kinsey had both taken the bait, reacting predictably to the presence of the SGC personal who had so conveniently been at the hotel.

A smile crept across his face as he let himself get lost in the crowd.


End file.
